My First & Second Mother's Day

It's been a year ago since I celebrated my very first Mother's Day. It's sad to say that I'm just now realizing I never shared any details about it. In all honesty, I can say it was mainly in part because I was still adjusting to parenthood as Harper was only four days old at the time. The thought of blogging didn't ever cross my mind during those first few weeks (or months if I was honest). So before recapping my second Mother's Day I'd like to share my first.

My First Mother's Day 

Throughout my pregnancy we knew Harper was going to be a Mother's Day baby if everything went smoothly. Sure enough Harper made her big debut on a Wednesday night, just three days prior to my first Mother's Day. Due to Harper's late arrival, Kevin and I had to stay at the hospital until late Friday. Thanks to my amazing parents, they volunteered to stay with us that first weekend to help us adjust to our new roles as parents. Little did I know that my parents planned a cook out for us that weekend as well. On Saturday, we had quite a few visitors that wanted to come see Harper on her first full day home. Thankfully most people came to visit in the morning. That afternoon we celebrated my first Mother's Day (a day early) and Harper's first full day home with a cook out on the back porch with our immediate families. I'll never forget Harper basking in the sun beside us in order to help rid her of her jaundice.

On Sunday, Kevin gave me the sweetest Mother's Day card that I still have to this day. Along with it, he included a "coupon" for dinner out that week at a place of my choice. He'd already made arrangements with his mom to watch Harper one evening so we could have dinner just the two of us. That day we also had to take Harper to the local hospital to have her foot pricked to check her bilirubin levels. Definitely the worst part of my first Mother's Day! Following our hospital visit we headed to Mom and Dad's for lunch with the family. Since we were so exhausted Mom and Dad volunteered to keep an eye on Harper while we went upstairs and took a nap. Four hours later we made our way back downstairs. I'd have to say it was probably the best nap ever!

A few weeks later Kevin got me a "real" Mother's Day gift because he hadn't had time to get me a "real" gift before since we'd came home that weekend. I ended up with a living locket filled with items that represented our little family! It included a Tarheel foot, a little girl with the May birthstone, an apple for me being a teacher, and an S for my first name. Since then I've added a dog charm for our little Rimy, a heart for Kevin and myself, as well as a "blessed" disc for the inside. How blessed I truly am!

My Second Mother's Day

If you'd have asked me last year if my first Mother's Day could be any more perfect than it was then, I'd have said no. However, this year was just as amazing! Like last year we had our family and friends over the day before Mother's Day. Only this year we weren't celebrating Harper's arrival home. We celebrated Harper's first year of life. It was bittersweet to see our little girl walking around on the back porch when just a year before she was hanging out in her little newborn-sized gown sunbathing. How fast the year flew! If you haven't already read about Harper's first birthday party, you can read about it here.

Unfortunately Kevin wasn't off on Sunday so he wasn't able to spend the day with us. But that left me and Harper to spend some time together. We spent the morning playing with some of Harper's new birthday gifts until it was time for church. When church was over we headed to my parents' house where we spent all afternoon hanging out and catching up with them. Around 5 we headed to Kevin's grandparents house for a Mother's Day cookout where Kevin met us when he got off work. When we got home we hung out as a family of three. We talked, laughed, and played. It couldn't have been more perfect.

I ended up with several gifts this Mother's Day... all of which came early. A couple of weeks ago, Kevin took me to get a mint green Gianni Bini purse I'd been eyeing since Jessica over at The Newly  put it on her blog months ago. I'd mentioned wanting it several times so one night after dinner Kevin took me by Dillards to get it... no matter what the cost. Lucky for Kevin it was on sale :P.

Along with my new handbag Kevin also purchased me something I've been wanting since we got married... a celebration platter! A celebration platter is a platter that you use for all the special occasions in your family. It's the go to plate for your family's birthday cakes, Thanksgiving turkeys, cookies for Santa, etc. I've been hunting for one for a couple of years now and I had only ever found one that I sort of liked. It was the "Happy Everything" platter that Swoozies carries but I just wasn't in love with all the colors. But after much searching Kevin bought me the perfect one. It's just a simple white platter with the word "happy" and has a burlap bow that can be interchanged for ribbon that matches the special occasion being celebrated. It couldn't be more perfect. I was so in love with it that I had to rearrange my kitchen counter so that it can be displayed all year long!

Along with Kevin's gifts, when I picked up Harper last Friday, she had a "Happy Mother's Day" balloon and rose waiting for me in her crib. It was precious!

All in all, I had an amazing first and second Mother's Day and I can't wait to celebrate more in the future!